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Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Introspective

There is an old saying that knowledge is
power and our government’s ability to gather intelligence data both
domestically and abroad is a means of protecting our National Security
and safe guarding our national interests.

How the U.S. spy agencies have been gathering their intelligence
data, though, has been highly criticized both in the U.S. and by
citizens abroad.

A recently leaked document provided by former National Security
Agency contractor and fugitive, Edward Snowden, reveals that the U.S.
National Security Agency has been secretly tapping the Chinese telecoms
and Internet giant, Huawei, and various other Chinese corporate
networks.

The NSA for years has been accessing, Huawei's email archive,
communications between top company officials, and even the secret source
code of some of its products. The original intent of the NSA’s Operation “Shotgiant” was to
search for links between the Shenzhen-based tech giant and the Chinese
military, according to Snowden’s leaked documents.

The Chinese military has been accused also of electronically
stealing and hacking corporate and U.S. Government secrets for years.
Other nations have also been on the receiving end of China’s cyber
intrusions. How those stolen trade secrets are being utilized by the
Chinese military can pose a direct threat against our National Security.

The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and the NSA has long seen,
Huawei, as a security threat due to perceived links to the Chinese
military, which the company denies, and both the United States and
Australia have barred, Huawei, from involvement in broadband projects
due to espionage fears.
The U.S. has penetrated Huawei’s communication products sold to
third countries out of fear that such products were being used to “gain
access to networks of interest” across the globe.
The U.S. National Security Agency defended its
intelligence-gathering operations, which it maintained were focused only
on “valid foreign intelligence targets.” It also insisted that their
intelligence gathering activities “are focused and specifically deployed
against — and only against — valid foreign intelligence targets in
response to intelligence requirements.”
The NSA is also pushing back against suggestions by Snowden and
others that spy agencies were waging an industrial espionage campaign on
behalf of U.S. businesses.“We do not use foreign intelligence capabilities to steal the
trade secrets of foreign companies on behalf of — or give intelligence
we collect to — U.S. companies to enhance their competitiveness,” according to a released NSA statement.

The Chinese telecommunication company, Huawei, disagrees with all
activities that threaten the security of their networks. They have gone
on record, “….. to willingly work with all governments, industry
stakeholders and customers, in an open and transparent manner, to
jointly address the global challenge of network security….”
The U.S. Government, however, will continue to perceive the
Chinese telecommunications giant, Huawei, as a potential security threat
due to their close ties with the Chinese military. Our U.S. intelligence community will continue to closely monitor
and prohibit, Huawei, from any and all involvement in broadband projects
within the U.S. due to potential threats of espionage.

I enjoy telling my students at the Suzhou International Foreign
Language School, in Suzhou, China - that the new technological wonders
that science produces, can be our greatest gift or our greatest fear,
depending on the hands that are using it.

This Intel tug of war between China and the U.S. can in all
reality develop into something much greater than just perceived threats.
It can very well progress into full blown cyber-attacks by simple
clicks of a computer mouse. That in my opinion would be something that
most people are quite incapable of fully comprehending. The devastation
of such full-blown cyber-attacks by world powers is not something sane
individuals would want to bring on the world.

I often bring up in my Cultural Diversity classes here in Suzhou,
China - how I have difficulty fathoming where technology will progress,
especially, when my students are my age and what the world will be like
then - if I ever live that long but I suppose time will only tell …….
Always with love from Suzhou, China
Thomas F O’Neill

U.S. voice mail: (800) 272-6464
China Cell: 011-86-15114565945
Skype: thomas_f_oneill
Email: introspective7@hotmail.com
Other articles, short stories, and commentaries by Thomas F. O'Neill can be found on his award winning blog, Link:
http://thomasfoneill.blogspot.com

Click on Thomas F. O'Neill for bio and list of other works published by Pencil Stubs Online.